The University of Iowa Child Health Research Career Development Award (CHRCDA) program entitled Molecular and Cellular Research to Advance Child Health is designed to support the academic career development of promising junior pediatric faculty. This program takes advantage of our present strengths, existing research programs, and established investigators by placing particular emphasis on three major areas of pediatric research, namely Molecular Genetics, Cardiovascular Biology, and Host Defenses. Specifically, this program will support and foster research training of junior pediatric physician-scientists in cellular and molecular biology, applied genetics and genomics, animal models of human disease, and translational research. The specific goals of this program are: (1) to provide junior pediatric physician- scientists with the research background and approaches to problem solving that they can apply to current and future studies of the genetic and functional basis of diseases that impact broadly on children's health; (2) to give junior pediatric physician-scientists formal instruction in a common core curriculum with material considered relevant and necessary for the pursuit of a successful academic research career; (3) to provide a unique environment for junior pediatric physician-scientists to study gene function across the biological spectrum from regulation at the molecular level through to whole organism physiology; (4) to provide junior pediatric physician-scientists with an opportunity to acquire new, innovative and state-of-the-art scientific research expertise in molecular and cellular biology, physiologic genomics, and translational research to bridge the gap between basic science research and clinical pediatric medicine; (5) to attract the most talented junior pediatric physician-scientists and to recruit, develop and train minority and women as independent investigators. To achieve these aims we have recruited 29 senior faculty mentors from diverse departments and units throughout the Department of Pediatrics, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and the College of Medicine. Oversight of the program will be achieved through regularly scheduled meetings of an Internal Advisory Committee and presentations by each of the scholars. In addition, an External Advisory Committee will meet onsite annually to review the program, assess progress of the scholars, and provide feedback regarding the effectiveness and operations of the program. This program will ultimately improve the health and well being of children through innovative research fostered by the development of newly trained and highly effective child health research clinician-scientists.